George Balch Nevin

George Balch Nevin (March 15, 1859 – April 17, 1933) was an American composer and businessman. A member of the Nevin musical family, his cousins were the composers Ethelbert and Arthur Nevin; his son, Gordon Balch Nevin, also became a composer.^[1] His brother, David W. Nevin, was mayor of Easton, Pennsylvania from 1912 to 1920.^[2]

Nevin was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania,^[3] and spent most of his life in the town of Easton. His output consisted mainly of cantatas, and included such works as The Crown of Life and The Incarnation; he was also known for his setting of Sidney Lanier's poem "A Ballad of Trees and the Master", and wrote a number of hymns as well. Helen Tretbar translated at least one of his songs ("Ho! Fill Me a Flagon!") into German.^[4] For nearly thirty years, he ran a wholesale paper business in addition to composing.^[1]

Nevin was also a historian and lecturer, and would sometimes give lectures on subjects related to music history to local historical societies. Some of these have survived in manuscript form.^[5]

Nevin died in 1933.